Google recently released an update targeting product review websites, which has sent Amazon Affiliates scrambling.
It makes sense. Amazon affiliates have been hit hard this last year, with Amazon cutting commission rates and making it even more challenging to make money with the program.
But is Google’s product review update the final nail in the coffin?
No, and in this article I’ll show you why it can actually be a good thing. (more…)
The Amazon Affiliate Program (also known as Amazon Associates) is something that every affiliate marketer should have in their arsenal – but it is not without its fault.
Amazon is the world’s largest online retailer, and offers just about any physical good that you’d want to promote. While it’s not the ideal choice in every situation, you would be foolish to ignore the power it can hold for you.
In fact, there are people who build entire companies – pulling in hundreds of thousands of dollars per year – solely around promoting products on Amazon.
In this article, I’d like to talk more about the pros and cons of Amazon’s affiliate program in detail, as well as answer some of the most common questions regarding the program.
This way, you can better idea on how you could benefit from signing up, and how to make more from Amazon’s affiliate program once you choose to do so. (more…)
If you’ve been sending a lot of traffic to Amazon landing pages, but you’re not earning many commissions, this can be incredibly frustrating.
We all know that increased traffic numbers are supposed to correlate directly with a higher number of sales. Unfortunately, this doesn’t always paint a full picture. Other than simply traffic numbers, there is a number of factors that determine how much money you will make from Amazon’s affiliate program.
In this instance, low conversion tends to point to a single problem, however.
Low conversion is almost entirely due to the quality of the traffic you’re sending to the sales pages.
As marketers, it’s important that we understand an important fundamental principal – not every visitor or click is the same. Some are more valuable than others, and 50 targeted clicks can be more powerful than 500 untargeted clicks.
Every customer goes through different stages before committing to a purchase. Generally speaking, the more expensive the product, the longer the sales cycle will be. Interested consumers will spend more time researching and weighing their options. Decisions will take longer, and they may visit the sales page several times before the buy.
As an affiliate, your goal is to help move interested potential buyers further along their journey. You want to not only make them aware that the product exists, but help to demonstrate its value. Paint a picture of how the product will fit into their mind, and overcome any objections they’re telling themselves, that will prevent a sale.
This is why it can be so helpful to do deep research on what type of person would want to buy that product, or better yet, actually purchase and use the item yourself.
But if you want to earn a commission, it starts with people who actually stand a shot at converting in the first place.
Therefore, how you acquire the traffic is of utmost importance.
For example, writing a review article on a specific product is far more valuable than just casually linking to it in some random conversation. Put yourself in the customer’s mindset for a moment. The people seeking out reviews are likely already on the fence about purchasing, and just need something to push them over the edge. They already what the product is, and how it can help them.
This is completely different than somebody who is being introduced to a product for the first time.
If you want to make money, target potential buyers, and help them move closer to a purchase on your own. Ultimately, your targeting will make all of the difference.
Despite reduced commissions, the Amazon affiliate program is still incredibly powerful. Target an audience of people who are ready to buy, and your conversion rate will shoot up drastically!
Looking to increase your Amazon affiliate earnings? Consider picking up my Amazon Affiliate Blueprint, which covers strategies and tactics that top affiliates use to maximize their earnings.
Despite the fact that it’s a lot of blogger’s top earners (including myself!), a lot of people don’t actually know what Affiliate marketing is, or how to get started with affiliate marketing on their blog. This comes as a great surprise to me, as it’s one of the most effective ways to make money off of a blog today, especially since we have plugins now like Adblock that prevent CPC ads such as Adsense being shown. Anyhow, for those you who are completely new to affiliate marketing, here is your place to start. (more…)